In vitro Propagation of Malaysian Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Variety through Low Cost Tissue Culture Media

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a perennial woody plant belongs to Euphorbiaceae family and listed as one of the most important source of carbohydrates around the world. In Malaysia, Cassava is an important industrial crop for starch processing and food industries. Hence, an in vitro propagation technique is needed to produce these highly demand industrial crop. In this study, the Malaysian cassava variety which was Putih variety was cultured onto low cost tissue culture media by using nodal explants. The low cost media were tested using locally available ingredients which were 2 ml/L Maxigreen50 liquid fertilizer as the substitute to MS salt, 3%(w/v) table sugar as the substitute to sucrose, agar-agar strip (14 g/L), corn flour (20 g/L), and tapioca flour (20 g/L) as the substitute to Phytagel powder. The low cost media were supplemented with young coconut water of Matag variety at the concentration of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mL/L. The results showed that the best low cost media for the induction of shoot multiplication, height and number of leaves was the low cost media supplemented with 2 mL/L Maxigreen50 liquid fertilizer, 14 g/L agar-agar strip + 20 g/L corn flour, and 100 mL coconut water for cassava Putih variety.